Luke, youngest of the Wilson clan, knows how to act around the biggest of the female stars

To those who know him best, Luke Wilson insists, he's considered "somewhat of a hothead." To those who know him as a guy in the movies, this will come as a surprise. In such films as Legally Blonde, Charlie's Angels and Old School, he plays characters of unsurpassed earnestness and passivity--the straight man to such showy blonds as Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz and Will Ferrell (who's actually more of a sandy brunet).

People still unfamiliar with Wilson's work will have difficulty avoiding it over the next month. Three of his films are opening on three successive weekends, and two are poised...